Cardiology

For decades, FMH Cardiologists have been providing outstanding cardiac care to the citizens of central Maryland. Now, there is a treatment protocol for patients diagnosed with a certain kind of heart attack that is most frequently an emergency situation.

When patients are having a heart attack, immediate action may be necessary to relieve the crushing chest pain, and to reestablish blood flow through heart vessel(s) blocked with plaque. Emergency treatment may be with medicines to open blocked vessels over time, or surgical intervention to open the blocked vessels immediately. FMH has the capability and expertise to provide the immediate surgical intervention to open blocked heart vessels.

Chest pain is one of the most common complaints that will bring a patient to the Emergency Department. Seeking immediate care may be lifesaving, and considerable public education has been undertaken to get patients to access medical care when chest pain strikes. While you may be worried about a heart attack, there are many other causes of pain in the chest that the healthcare provider will need to consider. Some diagnoses are life threatening, while others are less dangerous.

Deciding the cause of chest pain is sometimes very difficult and may require blood tests, x–rays, CT scans and other tests to sort out the diagnosis. Often though, a careful history taken by the healthcare provider may be all that is needed to find the answer.

Frederick Memorial Hospital consistently followed the treatment guidelines in ACTION Registry®-GWTGTM for four consecutive quarters and met a performance standard of 90% for specific performance measures to receive this 2012 award.